July 12, 2006	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 15, 1427

HONG KONG, July 11: Asian stocks were narrowly mixed on Tuesday after an indifferent Wall Street performance overnight left investors with no real lead to follow, dealers said.

They said there was some continued concern over high oil prices and the fallout from last week's North Korean missile launches but on both counts there seemed to have been an easing, leaving the markets to worry again about the outlook for US interest rates ahead of a series of US economic data.

It had been hoped that last week's US unemployment report would confirm the softer line on interest rates taken by the US Federal Reserve in June but the figures instead showed both slower job growth and rising wage inflation pressures.

A BoJ rate hike would be welcomed as signalling a return to normality in Japan but it would also likely see the regional currencies strengthen, which could in turn put pressure on exports, the region's main economic driver.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed 0.51 per cent lower as investors took profits ahead of a key Bank of Japan decision later this week on whether to raise interest rates, dealers said.

They said a lackluster performance on Wall Street also gave investors reason to cash in sharp gains made Monday.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 78.99 points to 15,473.82. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares shed 8.22 points or 0.52 per cent to 1,585.85.

Losers beat gainers 1,074 to 514, with 108 stocks unchanged.

Volume fell to 1.58 billion shares from 1.70 billion Monday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.68 per cent lower Tuesday on a technical correction after recent gains, with Wall Street's mixed performance overnight keeping investors cautious, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 113.68 points at 16,490.13, off a low of 16,477.46 and high of 16,568.62. Turnover was 24.19 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.1 billion US dollars).

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.69 per cent lower as the banking sector came under pressure after figures showing a surge in home loans sperked fresh interest rate fears, dealers said.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 shed 35.6 points to 5,107.2 while the broader All Ordinaries fell 31.6 points to 5,071.3.

Volume was 943.3 million shares worth 3.35 billion dollars (2.5 billion US), with 561 stocks down, 493 up and 317 unchanged.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.92 per cent lower, extending losses in the absence of a fresh leads after a lacklustre Wall Street performance, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index fell 22.54 points to 2,415.91 on volume of 1.03 billion shares worth 840.73 million Singapore dollars (532.11 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed flat as investors continued to look around for a fresh convincing lead, dealers said.

They said trade was dominated by second board, smaller stocks.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipped 0.26 points at 924.60 on volume of 1.06 billion shares worth 962.5 million ringgit (264 million dollars) while gainers beat losers 434 to 303.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.31 per cent higher, led by nickel miner Inco and index heavyweight Telkom but volume was thin given lacklustre regional markets, dealers said.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.33 per cent higher following sharp gains in market leader Telecom which has been under pressure for several weeks on regulatory concerns, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 11.91 points to 3,663.15 on turnover worth US$72.7m.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 0.65 per cent lower in choppy trade ahead of the start of the April-June quarterly results season for the major software firms, dealers said.

They said mixed Asian market trends left the local bourse uncertain but local funds are confident India's second largest software exporter, Infosys Technologies, will post strong earnings Wednesday.—AFP